The Great Emperor of the Eastern Mountain 东岳大帝

The Great Emperor of the Eastern Mountain, with "Eastern Mountain" referring to Mount Tai, is also known as "the God of Mount Tai". There are various theories about his origins, including those that identify him as Jinhongshi, Taihao, Pangu, the Grandson of Heaven, and Huang Feihu, among others. According to The Complete Collection of the Origins of the Three Teachings and Records of the Gods, the Great Emperor of the Eastern Mountain was the son of Shaohai, the Golden Wheel King (a ninth-generation descendant of Pangu), and his wife, the Immortal Milun. He was initially named "Jinhongshi".

Because Jinhongshi rendered meritorious service in the Changbai Mountains, during the time of Fuxi, he was conferred the title of Taisui (the God of the Year). In the era of Shennong (the Yan Emperor), he was appointed as the Heavenly Talisman Chief Official, with the title "Lord Mingfu". During the reign of Emperor Ming of the Han Dynasty, he was granted the title of "Marshal of Mount Tai". In the second year of Chuigong in the Wu Zhou Dynasty (686 AD), he was enfeoffed as "Divine Mountain Heavenly Central King" for the Eastern Mountain. In the first year of Wansuitongtian in the Wu Zhou Dynasty (696 AD), he was further honored as "Heavenly Equal Lord". In the 13th year of Kaiyuan in the Tang Dynasty (725 AD), Emperor Xuanzong bestowed upon him the additional title of "Heavenly Equal King". In the first year of Dazhongxiangfu in the Northern Song Dynasty (1008 AD), he was granted the title "Eastern Mountain Heavenly Equal Benevolent Sage King", and three years later, he was revered as an emperor, known as "Eastern Mountain Heavenly Equal Benevolent Sage Emperor".

The worship and veneration of the Great Emperor of the Eastern Mountain date back to the Three Ancient Dynasties (Xia, Shang, and Zhou). At that time, people mainly resided in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River. Hence, the emperors "offered blood sacrifices to the gods of the state, the five sacrifices, and the Five Sacred Mountains". Among the Five Sacred Mountains, Mount Tai was regarded as the foremost and was honored as "Daizong" (the revered ancestor of mountains). Fengsu Tongyi (a work on customs) quotes Confucius as saying, "The number of those who performed the feng sacrifice on Mount Tai and the chan sacrifice on Liangfu amounts to seventy-two", which means that kings, upon achieving great accomplishments, would hold these ceremonies to report to Heaven and Earth.

After the Han and Wei dynasties, Taoism followed the ancient traditions and paid homage to the Great Emperor of the Eastern Mountain. Mount Tai is located in the east, where yin and yang interact and all things originate. As there is life, there must be death, so it is said that the Great Emperor of the Eastern Mountain knows the length of people's lives. Fengsu Tongyi cites a rumor of the time: "On Daizong, there are golden boxes and jade records that know the length of people's lifespans". Many tomb talismans unearthed from the Han Dynasty bear the words "the dead belong to Mount Tai". From the Han and Wei dynasties onward, the Great Emperor of the Eastern Mountain also took charge of people's life, death, longevity, and premature death. Yunji Qiqian (a Taoist encyclopedia) states: "The Lord of Mount Tai leads 5,900 gods, governing life and death, and is the commander-in-chief of all ghosts".

As a result, most Dongyue Temples (temples dedicated to the Great Emperor of the Eastern Mountain) have seventy-two or seventy-five divisions that manage the life records of humans and immortals, such as the Division of Immediate Retribution and the Division of Fortune and Longevity, each overseeing people's life, death, nobility, and humbleness. The birthday of the Great Emperor of the Eastern Mountain is the 28th day of the third lunar month. On this day, Dongyue Temples and other Taoist temples that enshrine him hold birthday celebrations, with large-scale zhaijiao (fasting and offering rituals) to pray for longevity and life extension for Taoists. When relatives pass away, people also go to the Great Emperor of the Eastern Mountain to perform the Huanglu ritual (a Taoist ceremony for delivering the deceased) to pray for the souls of the departed to ascend to heaven as soon as possible.